Video Game Vintage Title: Kung Fu Panda

Kung Fu Panda

Kung Fu Panda is a video game, loosely based on the movie of the same name. The game was released across various platforms in June 2008. It is about a giant panda called Po's quest to be the Dragon Warrior.

Kung Fu Panda Plot

Po (Mick Wingert) is a giant panda who lives in the Valley of Peace, a fictional village in China. He idolizes that great kung fu masters, the Furious Five, who are trained by the red panda master Shifu. Po dreams of becoming a great Kung Fu fighter, and fighting with the Furious Five, but he is unable to achieve this, being an ordinary panda working in his goose dad Mr. Ping's shop. To this day, he has never found out why his dad is a goose.

Shifu's mentor, tortoise Grand Master Oogway, visions that the evil snow leopard Tai Lung, who is currently being imprisoned in the great prison Chor Gom Prison, will return to the Valley of Peace to bring harm and destruction, and only the Dragon Warrior can save them. Tai Lung, originally Shifu's student, was abandoned for unknown reasons, and was found by Shifu, who took care of him and trained to be a Kung Fu Fighter. Tai Lung wanted to prove himself worthy to receive the Dragon Scroll, containing the secret to unlimited power. However, Oogway did not think he was worthy enough. In rage, he attacked the citizens of the Valley of Peace, but he was stopped by Oogway, and was put in Chor Gom Prison, which was built for him, a massive prison with five hundred guards and thousands of turrets and weapons and locked gates.

Shifu, upon hearing this, arranges a great tournament for the choosing of the Dragon Warrior, who will be given the Dragon Scroll. Po rushes to the palace, only to find that the gates have been closed. He attempts to enter the arena by strapping himself to some rockets and fireworks, and rockets into the arena, where Tigress, a member of the Five, has just finished her performance. Grand Master Oogway then begins to identify the Dragon Warrior before Po crashes into the arena. Oogway then points at him. Master Shifu, the Five and Po are all surprised by this.

Meanwhile, Zeng, a palace goose is flying back to the Jade Palace from Chor Gom Prison, only to be attacked by vultures. He is saved by Master Crane just as he is about to fall to his death. Crane beats up the vultures and flies Zeng safely to the Palace, where Zeng announces that Tai Lung, as Oogway visioned, has escaped from prison after hearing that the Dragon Warrior has been chosen.

Shifu sees that Po is improving in Kung Fu after he defeats the evil Black Hoof Boar Clan and decides to send him and Master Crane to Lotus Lake, a lake inhabited by turtles, to stop the Imperial Croc Gang, who have heard of Tai Lung's escape and joined him. The turtles inform them that the Imperial Croc Gang have taken over the pond and are going to steal the turtles' hatchlings. Po and Crane set off to find and escort the hatchlings to safety, and even kill the head Sergeant Crocodile of the gang.

Noticing that Po is getting more improvement with his Kung Fu, Master Shifu takes Po to the Wudang Mountains, where Kung Fu was invented by Oogway. There, the Great Gorilla and his minions, evil thugs who were banished from there during Tai Lung's imprisonment, have returned upon Tai Lung's escape and are stealing all the riches in the mountains. Po manages to collect the sacred relics there before the gorillas can and kills The Great Gorilla. Meanwhile, the Five go to defeat Tai Lung, only to be defeated themselves, and get captured by the Lang Shadow Wolf Army, who have joined Tai Lung. Shifu goes to rescue the Five and successfully does so while defeating Tai Lung's army.

Shifu decides to give Po the Dragon Scroll, but surprisingly, it is blank, leaving Po, Shifu and the Five puzzled. Although the scroll is blank, Shifu decides to go hold off Tai Lung while sending the Five, Po and the villagers out of the Valley of Peace, along with the Scroll. As they are about to leave, Po's father tells him the secret to his "Secret Ingredient Soup", which is... nothing. His father explains that to make something special, you just have to believe it is special, and it's all in your mind and confidence. Po realizes this is the same concept with the scroll, and that he has to believe HE is the dragon warrior to defeat Tai Lung.

Po sets off to the Palace, where Shifu is nearly killed by Tai Lung. Po and Tai Lung battle once again in the arena of the Palace, while the wolves of the Lang Shadow Army and the villagers of the Valley of Peace fight. Po defeats him using the Wuxi Finger Hold, a move that Po had taught himself, and Tai Lung vanishes into thin air. Po is then accepted by the Furious Five and all the villagers as the Dragon Warrior and is claimed a true Kung Fu master.

Kung Fu Panda Gameplay

Kung Fu Panda intended mainly for children and is based on the movie Kung Fu Panda. Players initially control Po, who differs from the movie in that he possesses a basic level of martial arts skill from the beginning, enabling him to participate in battle. In addition to fighting and jumping challenges, maintaining balance is another important element of the game, such as Po crossing tightropes, staying on moving platforms and using it to steer a boat through a dangerous river. Over the course of the game's narrative, the player improves Po's skill by adding various new fighting techniques and special moves, although in some parts of the game, the player will have to complete the tasks as another character.

After collecting a number of coins at the end of each level, the player has the option to buy upgrades to Po's moves and health, as well as a different set of new outfits. Eventually, as the player progresses through the game, they'll be able to unlock other characters, including Master Shifu and the members of the Furious Five (a team of elite fighters each with their own fighting styles and mini-games). In addition, the player will be able to use objects and weapons when fighting. Furthermore, before each new level, Po narrates the continuing story, while the words are being scrolled up on the screen.

In the Wii version, the Wii Remote is used to perform moves and skills, such as the Wuxi Finger Hold; in the PS3 version, the motion sensors of the Sixaxis controller can be used to control Crane in missions, where players play as him, while in the Nintendo DS version, while the D-pad moves Po, the touch screen is mainly used for combat moves, in the style of the DS version of Spider-Man 3, which was also developed by Vicarious Visions.

Reception
The game received generally positive reviews from critics. The Xbox 360 version of the game received a 6.5/10 from GameSpot, it scored a Metacritic rating of 75/100 from 42 critics. It also scored 7.5/10 from IGN. It also got a positive score of 8/10 from Game Informer.

In 2009, it won the International Animated Film Society's Annie Award for Best Animated Video Game, "in recognition of creative excellence in the art of animation."